A Thought-Provoking Experience

My boss, Tim, is a co-chair for the PRIDE group at work. It's a group of GLBT people throughout the company. We do things like social (networking) events, community involvement, and volunteering for a number of different things. Several weeks ago, he said, "I see you're not volunteering." I told him that I'm not the kind of person who says something needs to get done, then does it, but if he gave me a date and time, I would be there. He said, "Project Open Hand needs volunteers on January 29."

So begins a thought-provoking experience. If you haven't seen Latter Days, you probably should. Yeah, it's a "gay movie," and it is a bit graphic at times, but one of the themes is doing something with your life. In the movie, Christian volunteers and takes food to people with AIDS. That's basically what I did on the 29th. I thought about what I would be doing and thought that these people would be grateful, tears, the whole thing. Kind of like delivering flowers or a food basket at Christmas. Then, I realized that I was bringing someone groceries because they couldn't get out to get them themselves. This would be something normal for them.

My next thought was maybe they would expect something that wasn't in the bag. What if someone got mad at me because the brand of soup they wanted wasn't there? How would I handle it? Lastly, I thought it might be an opportunity to get to know someone maybe, who I might learn something from. Maybe a lifelong friend.

It turned out to be somewhat anti-climactic. I was given four people to deliver to. The first came to the door of his apartment building and took the bags, thanking us. I asked if he needed help with it. He said "No" and was gone. The second had a little bit more food, so he did accept help getting it up the two flights of stairs into his apartment. The third didn't come to the door. Someone else came to the door and when we said why we were there, he took the bags and thanked us. The last place was just hard to find, but eventually we did. He also took the food and went back inside.

No one cried, no one got upset, and I didn't make any lifelong friends. When I got home and thought about the experience a little more, I realized I didn't do it for me. I did it to help someone out who couldn't get to the store. Did I change a life? Probably not. Did I maybe lighten someone's thoughts and worries a little bit? Maybe. I hope to be able to do it again sometime, but next time I know. It's not for me, but for them. Regardless of the reaction I think I might get or actually do.

You too, might think about volunteering. It doesn't have to be 40 hours a week. One Sunday afternoon a month might do more for someone than you think. Hmmm.